Washashore2's blog

West Yarmouth Meets South at El Mariachi

When the weather gets cold its time to heat up with some great south of the border cuisine and since I haven't tried El Mariachi in West Yarmouth on rte 28, my friends and I decided to stop by. With an appetite ready to explore and the ambience of the mexican music filling the air, we were ready to dive into their menu. They are a family-owned restaurant that offers a genuine and unique Mexican cuisine experience and they have a long tradition in Massachusetts. Their mission is to offer you a pleasant environment from the moment you enter the door until you savor their dishes – and beyond. Their mission was completed for us as we each decided on something a little different. I decided on the Pork Carnitas which was a savory dish made with pork – which is slow cooked with fresh garlic until fork tender. Topped with red onion rings and served with rice, beans, guacamole and a side dish of mild red sauce. It was delivered upon a large serving platter and offered a flavorful variety of taste to enhance the perfecty tender pork with warm flour tortillas to allow me to roll my own special packages of delite. One of my friends choose the Camarones Diablo which was a tasty combination of spicy shrimp, mushrooms and fresh garlic, sautéed in butter with special sauce,rice and beans. There were moments of complete silence as my friend savored the flavors of her dish. And my other friend decided to go healthy with a Veggie Burrito which was a flour tortilla filled with rice, whole black beans and vegetables. Smothered with fresh green tomatillo sauce and served with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole and fresco cheese. Now she is my resident burrito expert as she knows how to create an awesome burrito and she loved this and took what she couldn't eat home, only to leave room for dessert. I enjoyed the creamy goodness of my Flan with caramel and a coffee liqueur toppings. While one of my friends enjoyed her Chimi Cheesecake which was two rolls of creamy cheescakem in a flakey puff pastry and fried until golden and topped with caramel and strawberry sauce. And who could leave an awesome mexican restaurant without the taste of a Fried Ice Cream which was equally devoured and loved by my other friend. Thanks El Mariachi for an awesome dining experience...We will return!!!!

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Lunch with The Ghouls at Yarmouth House

Life is all about celebrating the good times and there is no other place on Cape Cod that knows how to provide just the right atmosphere than The Yarmouth House on route 28 in Yarmouth. Any occassion is one filled with love and great food when you plan a dining experience here. My ghoul friends and myself decided we celebrate Halloween with someone who enjoyed the holiday as we do and we made the right decision stopping by Yarmouth House. Their welcoming decor enhanced our dining experience as we passed Count Dracula, Zoombies, Witches and Freddy Krueger on our way to our table. Their menu offers a good variety of choices with a easy to please range of prices. We decided on the "Sunset Special" as it offers a chance to sample all that the chef has to offer with an awesome three course menu choice. The first course offers a wide variety of choices for even the discerning diner from apps, soups, shrimp cocktail or salads. I opted for the soup of the day Cheddar Broccoli and it was flavorful creamy and hot. My friends each decided on something different and had the creamy Clam Chowder and the Chilled Three Medium Shrimp Cocktail. It was the beginning to an awesome dinning experience.One of my friend tried the Seafood Stuffed Salmon Casserole topped with Lobster sauce and served with rice pilaf and choice of veggie. Its was as delicous as it looked and just the right portion. My other friend chose the Black Angus Shepard's Pie with tender chucks of braise beef, carrots, peas and gravy, topped with cheddar cheese mashed potatoes. I had the Mussels Marinara which was a full pound of perfectly prepared mussels with garlic, peppers and a delicious marinara sauce over spaghetti. It was truely one our best dining adventures and dessert was the perfect end as we each tried one the three choices. A chilled Creme de' Mint Ice Cream, an warm Apple Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream and a silky smooth Mud Pie each made our meal an outstanding hit. They have been serving Cape Cod for many years and still live up to their reputation and will always be one of my favorite stops. Thanks Yarmouth House for an Awesome Experience!!

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Harvest and Apples on Cape Cod

Apples are the quintessential start of fall for me and their skin is said to be a predictor of what kind of winter we will have. A thick skin means a cold winter as nature prepares them for the weather to come. The smell of an apple brings about memories of Vermont trips for foliage and tastes of apple delicacies like cider doughnuts, apple pie and fresh pressed ciders. Here on Cape Cod we can get a touch of Vermont on Route 6a without the mountains but beaches instead. We have lots of great gift and specialities shops along the way and lots of great restaurants to satisfy a traveling soul. For fresh produce you can't beat the Crow's Farm in Sandwich and Cape Abilities in Dennis which are two of my favorite farmstands which are both on the scenic route 6a. But after a day of sight seeing and checking out all of your new found shops, you will surely get inspired and be wanting to cook. I found a great cookbook for apple cooking called Apples From Harvest to Table by Amy Pennington which includes lots of great easy healthy recipes. One of my favorites is a Sweet Potato, Thyme and Apple Hash with Egg Basketswhich is delicious change on breakfast with an egg or two served up in the middle of a savory sweet potato and apple hash. There are other great recipes too like Hard Cider Braised Ribs with Apple Slaw and an Apple Almond Tart that is totally delicious as well as many more. Apples are an amazing taste adventure with great health benefits and a great flavor enhancer to all your great recipes new and old. So get out there and savor the flavors of fall and share if you would like a favorite spot, shop, recipe or restaurant that inpsired you this fall.

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Cafe Chew in Sandwich offers Great Breakfasts, Lunch and Pastries. Marshland in Sandwich offers Great Breakfast, Lunch and Bakery item Grumpy's in Dennis offers great Breakfasts, Lunch and Muffins

Along the Breakfast Trail at The Grand Cafe

Breakfast can be a difficult effort when cooking for a group of people and because of the complexity of getting everything ready at the same time and my loving a good sweet and savory choice, often makes me choose to let someone else prepare it for me. I love to see how inventive a cook will be in his or her preparation and presentation of my starting meal of the day. Along my travels to different restaurants I have had the pleasure of trying some new delicious tastes which have awaken my own creativity with my breakfast preparation. But often times people like the stablity of a simple home cooked breakfast without all the frills and simple good food. So today I decided to try the The Grand Cafe on route 28 in West Yarmouth which is in the Old Golden Boy Restaurant that has long since been closed. Their breakfast menu was simple and they do offer daily specials. I decided on the two eggs scrambled, sausage, homefries and pancakes. It was all delicious and their pancakes were light and fluffy. My companion decided on the Grand Cafe Omelet which had roasted red peppers, asparagus, broccoli, and tomatoes with swiss and cheddar cheese. It all was simply prepared and delicious. The waitress was awesome and the atmosphere clean and pleasant. So if you are looking for for some good home cooking you should try the Grand Cafe. Thank You for a great breakfast.

Tasting the Best Fried Clam before Columbus Day

This is when the sadness of the end of summer really hits me as many of my summer favorite spots that I love to partake of those delicious sweet delicacies from the sea really gets limited as most close for the season. But we still have time and with the weather permitting to celebrate our own personal end to the season and maybe explore some of the Top Ten Fried Clams spots as voted by the patrons and readers of the Cape Cod Times. For me living on Cape Cod is an adventure each day and fresh seafood is an awesome perk to some of the best vistas that nature has to offer and there is always an unexplored restaurant out there who works hard on their craft of cooking and waiting for the right customer who will enjoy their presentation. As legend goes it was somewhere around 1916 in Maine. when a man called Lawerence "Chubby" Woodman who owned a small grocery store with an equally small concession stand that offered homemade potato chips tried frying the clams. Chubby and his wife experimented with several batters to come up with just the perfect recipe for their inventive creation and hence the fried clam was born. All along New England we travel and partake of those sweet tender crisp bites of seafood goodness. We all have great memories attached to them as they signify the end or the beginning of a season filled with endless possibilites. For me the top ten all dseserved their just honors as they created some awesome memories for all who traveled to or live on Cape Cod. I have my personal favorite places that are attached to memories and taste and my top favorite is Kreme 'N Kone in West Dennis on route 28 and on rte 6a in Dennis I love Captain Frosty's with their tender flavorful clam cakes too. Most of the time on Cape Cod it's just a matter of where you are traveling and feel the urge to taste the flavors of the ocean. We certainly have more than 10 restaurants or roadside stands where you can partake of some great sweet Fried Clams and I hope you clam lovers get a chance to get out there to taste some seafood goodness before the officially end the season. If you find someplace awesome share it here or with friends. I love for people to share their great dining experiences because it often opens up my taste buds to new flavors. Just one thing I must say as I end my blog when served those hot little tasty clam bites, don't keep them covered when fresh out of the fryer as the steam will make the batter soft and not crispy. Have fun out there and may your dining experiences be tasteful and delicious.

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Along the Breakfast Trail at The Chatham Filling Station

The days may be cooler but there is always lots to explore and always great restaurants to try here on Cape Cod. Traffic is calmer and life becomes as it should, slow and easy as we can travel the back roads and explore all that nature has blessed us with in the beautiful vistas that make the island such a treasure to all. Some of our favorite restaurants have moved on as the family traditions dwindled and others who have adventurous spirits seek to make their claim of the american dream. The Chatham Filling Station on 75 Old Harbour Road in Chatham has been open since May 2017 and are ready to awaken your taste buds with some very flavorful twists on a great breakfast and lunch menu. Their menu offers a southern/ southwestern flair to enhance your dining experience with cheesy creamy grits, saucy black beans or golden crisp hash browns as your side choices. Your meat choices are also inventive with cherrywood smoked bacon, country ham, maple sausage, pecan smoked shoulder bacon or andouille sauasge. And they have not forgotten their Cape Cod roots with a savory offering of crispy fish cakes sure to make you feel like a fisherman starting your day with a full stomach of goodness. They have a great baking background and you won"t be disappointed by their popovers, buscuits and breads which add extra flavor to those french toast choices. I enjoyed the two eggs scrambled with the creamy chesey grits, pecan smoked shoulder bacon and a delicious popover. My friend decided on raisin french toast and was excited as the dish arrived with thick slices of heavenly dusted savory pieces of heaven as she described it. The waitresses are friendly and the service is very good. Their coffee is rich and boldly flavorful sure to begin your day with a good burst of energy adding to a wonderful breakfast dining experience. Click on my above links to further explore your breakfast choices. Thanks Chatham Filling Station I will return again. Follow me on FaceBook ....Cape Cod FoodLovers

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Traveling to Peru and Mexico in Hyannis

New restaurants come and go on Cape Cod and finding just the right niche is very difficult but if it comes from love, it can be unstoppable. I have been to Tumi Ceviche Bar and Restaurant in Hyannis several times and truely enjoyed my meals with every visit. So when I learned that they had another restaurant in Hyannis, it was challange to see if they could do it again and after several visits I can honestly say that Casa Peru Fusion is a must stop. The fusion is a mixture or peruvian and mexican/spanish crusine all served up fresh to order by a family who's love shines through to their presentation and flavor. If you are a little hestitant about trying something new they have a prix fix menu for just twenty dollars that will certainly convert you as a regular customer as it has done to me. They start you out with a choice of a glass of wine, beer or a margarita and a choice of appetizer or taco, followed by entree and dessert. I love their Empanada which is a flaky puff pastry filled with a melt in your mouth chicken and cheese mixture and an aji amarillo drizzle, which is a mediuim spicy chille sauce. I have also tried the Carne A Sada which is a soft taco with grilled steak, onions, cilantro and a delicious chimichurri sauce, which is made from fresh parsley, garlic and vinegar, but sometimes they add oregano and crushed pepper for an added zing. It is a essential sauce for argentinean cooking and has been a cooking favorite of mine for grilled steak. The awesome fresh favor makes your steak dish come alive.If you are afraid of mexian spicy food then try the 1/2 Roasted Peruvian Chicken which is slow roasted after being marinated in beer and spices for 24 hours and served with mexican rice, Peruvian black beans and an avocado salad. The flavors totally blend to make this a very delicious and melt in your mouth dish. If you like beef than try the Churrasco A Lo Pobre which is a grilled skirt steak, served with a sunny side egg, salsa criolla, chimichurri and Tacu tacu (carmelized pinto beans and rice). They also serve burittos which are huge and will awaken your taste buds into a heavenly blend of herbs and spices as well as fajitas, enchiladas, and quesadillas. The dessert is the flavor of the day and their Fried Ice Cream which is just right way to end a meal that will make you feel like you have taken a trip off Cape to a Heavenly Spot called Casa Fusion which a fusion of love. Thanks Casa Fusion for all you do to make a dining experience awesome!!!!

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Sunset Dining at The Yarmouth House

Everyone loves a great deal and excellent food is sometimes a hard combination, but I found both at The Yarmouth House in Yarmouth. While looking for a good place to celebrate a friend's birthday with a great cozy atmosphere, we decided on old faithful favorite and visited The Yarmouth House one sunday afternoon and were surprised to find an interesting deal with an awesome appetizer. We started our meal with a large fried wonton wrapper which was shape as a bowl to hold a lobster ragoon mixture and triangular wonton chips for dipping. It was truely inventive with a creamy seafood goodness sprinkled with scallion and ginger. It left me thinking about recreating this dish at home. The waitress informed us that besides the regular menu choices which are all great and entincing, we could order off of the "sunset special menu". We were out to celebrate and we wanted to do it up right but my friends wanted to savor the roasted stuffed turkey with stuffing, whipped potatoes and butternut squash. I decided on the meatlof with a rich mushroom gravy, whipped potatoes and butternut squash. Our meals were delicious with a good homestyle comfort but we only ate half as we wanted to make room for our complimentary dessert. My friends who seemed to be in union this sunday orderd the Apple Crisp with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, caramel sauce and candied walnuts. I had to different and orderd the Peppermint Ice Cream Cake and was not sorry about my sweet choice. I am happy to say that the event was a success and a real good deal at under $25 per person. Thanks Yarmouth House you are still keeping up the tradition of serving great food!!!!

Quahog Hunting For The Best Stuffed Quahog at Chatham Squire

Is it a big clam or a quahog ? Well it's kinda both and if you are looking for a good stuffed quahog at the Chatham Squire Restaurant then you best look for the stuffed clam. The price will seem high at $8, but don't let that scare you off because it's more than enough for two people or two meals. The stuffing is lightly seasoned with small bites of clams,linguica and topped with melted cheese. It's has now become one of my top five stuffed quahog on Cape Cod and that is what the Cape is all about Great Seafood. While their menu can be a bit pricey, they do have great supper and lunch specials. The night that I visited I tried their Salmon with a light orange liqueur glaze and orange slices with rice and fresh green beans which was flavorful and good. It also started with a choice of salad or soup of the day, which was a rich flavorful Leek soup served up hot (which is a rare occurence at most restaurants). And for a mere $15, it also included a very delicious Lemon Creme Cake, which really made my Salmon dish complete with it's rich light citrus flavor.So if you are down in Chatham stop by and check out their specials and that large stuffed Clam. Thanks Chatham Squire for a great meal!!!

Super Bowl Cooking to a Touchdown

G​o Patriots!!​ Love them I do and I will be watching as I always do, for my favorite team to win and its a chance to celebrate with great food. Here on Cape Cod there are plenty of great places out there with big screen televisions that make you feel like you are at the game and delicious food to enhance your viewing pleasure. For me its a chance to prepare a feast of my favorite foods and try some different game time treats to ease through all those commericals and time outs. This year I have decided on a White Bean Chicken Chili with a Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread. ​Gucamole is a must and this week the markets knew we needed lots of them so you can find them on sale just about anywhere. I am making a traditional gucamole and a New England version Lobster Guacamole for the team support. And what is football without some PigSkins, which is potatoes skin with pork sausage, bacon, proscuitto, ham and cheese. Lucky for me the supermarkets are stocked with lots of snacks and desserts to make my preparation easy, its just a matter of choice and what you or your guests might like. My drink of choice besides the usual beer choices will be The Fourth Quater Punch which will blend together some healthy orange juice, gin, Campari and Ipa Ale. There are so many choices for themes and recipes out there, so decide and have fun. Wings, burgers/sliders, grinders, pizza, dips and ribs. Have fun tomorrow and celebrate with the people you love. We all need more fun and good food.

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About this Blog

A nurse of thirty-something years, I have transported myself to this somewhat quiet "island" for a peaceful existence more in tuned with people and nature. I will share my views and experiences of living as a Cape Cod Washashore.

This blog will follow the journey of doing what Cape Codders do to survive - the trade off for a higher cost of living once that bridge is crossed. All to find our peace on picturesque beaches, inhaling fresh salty air, enjoying nature and finding art around us and in ourselves. I will share my views on all that the island has to offer. Email me here.